Kansas Chainsaw Massacre: Man Suffocates Wife then Cuts His Own Legs Off

LIBERAL, Kan. (CBS/AP) It was like something out of the "Texas Chainsaw Murders." A Kansas man suffocated his wife before cutting his own legs off with an electric saw and bleeding to death, say police.

Photo: Police respond to the home of Jose and Alicia Rodriguez Jan.13.

Police in Liberal, Kan., just west of Kansas City, were responding to a missing persons report Jan. 13 when they came upon the gruesome scene - Jose Angel Rodriguez and his wife lay side by side on their bed. She was covered by a comforter. He was covered with blood.

Police believe Jose Rodriguez smothered his wife with a pillow before removing the guard off a skill saw and cutting both his legs to the bone. Investigators found a sock on his chest that they believe was used to muffle his screams, according to the Southwest Times.

The couple was last seen Jan. 9 when their teenage children came home to find a note saying that the couple had gone to Garden City, about 65 miles north of Liberal. But family and friends got worried when they hadn't heard from them after four days and contacted the police, the paper reported.

The coroner believes that the couple was deceased in their bedroom since Jan. 9, according to a press release by Liberal Police Capt. Patrick McClurg, but it was not immediately clear whether the children were staying in the house at the time.

According to the coroner's report, there was not an overwhelming odor in the home, and only a slight one when authorities arrived, because the bedroom was sealed off and the temperature in the room was around 60 degrees.

There has been an outpouring of support for their two teenage children. Classmates raised money for them during a recent basketball game and a memorial fund has also been established at Sunflower Bank in Liberal. Donations are being collected to help pay for the funeral arrangements. Citizens can call the bank at (620) 624-8101 for more information.